Red Bank Green

Serving Red Bank and Greater Red Bank, NJ

Two employees reported non-serious injuries after a car jumped the curb and plowed through the storefront of the Cluck U chicken restaurant on Water Street in Red Bank shortly before noon Tuesday, according to police Chief Darren McConnell. The driver was identified as Liv Wilson, 71, of Holmdel. No summonses were immediately issued, and the crash is under investigation by Patrolman Matthew Ehrenreich of the RBPD traffic safety unit.

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The doe allowed caretakers to swaddle it in blankets for several hours Saturday evening, above. Below, the doe struggling to escape the frigid Navesink that afternoon; the deer at left drowned. (Photo above by Stan Balmer, below by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A deer saved in a dramatic rescue from the frigid waters of the frozen Navesink River Saturday was released later that night – but only after veterinary professionals suggested it be euthanized, redbankgreen has learned.

Second Deputy Fire Chief Pete DeFazio said personnel at the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls told him and other emergency volunteers that the hospital had no facilities for the deer, which while uninjured, was cold and immobile, and would probably be euthanized.

“I said, ‘why, after we went to all this trouble, would you euthanize it?'” DeFazio told redbankgreen Monday evening. “How can you kill this thing after all we went through to save it?”

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Classic pop composer Burt Bacharach brings 50-plus years of make-out music to the Basie stage on Friday… after SPANK! delivers some Fifty Shades of parody on Wednesday.

Call it Jet-Set Pop; a smoothly stripped-down and swinging sonic signifier of a (real or imagined) time when the wars seemed colder, the winters somehow warmer, and the way of getting where you’re going — whether by 727, Galaxie 500, lunar module or Merry Prankster bus — was half the glamor and excitement in itself.

Songs like “The Look of Love,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “What the World Needs Now,” “This Guy’s in Love With You” and “I Say a Little Prayer” traded in the syrupy mush of Easy Listening (and the Legion hall polka-party of Mitch Miller and Lawrence Welk) for a cosmopolitan cocktail of West Coast Cool Jazz, bachelor-pad lounge and transistor-radio soul. And who better to bridge that sprawling generation gap and both sides of the Atlantic than the youthful, dashing, insanely talented composer-performer Burt Bacharach?

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Or something like that. Hey, we’re just having a little bit of fun with the moonrise over Wallace Street in Red Bank and a lighting fixture on the vacant former Smith Barney building Monday evening… (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

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The profile photo of the Twitter user identified as “the Sports Guru,” who Curt Schilling said posted offensive comments about his daughter, is the same one used on Facebook by a Brookdale student named Adam Nagel. Both accounts have since been removed. (Click to enlarge)

[See update below regarding student’s affiliation with the radio station.]

By JOHN T. WARD

Brookdale Community College suspended a student Monday after retired baseball great Curt Schilling outed him as one of at least two Twitter posters who tweeted sexually offensive statements about Schilling’s daughter last week.

The student, who was not identified by the school, was among two or more Twitter users who suggested they would sexually assault Schilling’s daughter, Gabby, after her father announced that she would be attending college Salve Regina University in Rhode Island and pitch for the softball team.

With the “what-were-we-thinking” hiccup of the Academy Award season now a fast-fading memory, Middletown Township Public Library continues its ongoing series of free movie screenings with another month-long slate of recent feature film releases; another chance to catch up with both the multiplex blockbusters and the arthouse curios that slipped between the sprockets.

It’s been called “the best video game you’ll never be able to play;” a smash-up sci-fi epic that unspools like a “Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers” story pitch. Riding a recent wave of futurama action roles, Tom Cruise stars as an awkward and reluctant warrior whose bum luck in the heat of battle — he’s repeatedly killed in action, only to be time-looped back into the fray — finds him forever poised at the Edge of Tomorrow. Kick-ass mentor Emily Blunt molds Cruise into a fighting machine capable of taking on the alien nasties, and Doug Liman directs the 2014 thriller that screens in MTPL’s Community Room today, March 2 at 2:30 pm — with much more to come.

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Video of the rescue as the boat goes out a second time and brings in a deer. Below, the two deer in the channel they created as they tried to escape. (Video and photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

One deer was rescued and another drowned after they fell through the ice on the Navesink River off Red Bank Saturday afternoon.

The dramatic rescue of a doe followed an all-out effort by local fire and first aid volunteers assembled on the dock of the Oyster Point Hotel, on the Red Bank side.

The club cannot allow the general public to access the river via its property because of liability issues, but the best viewing of a race would be from Marine Park anyway, said Oakley. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

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Scotty Barnhart and the Count Basie Orchestra make a too-rare and much-appreciated return to the historic venue that bears the name of the fabled Kid from Red Bank this Sunday, with the New York Voices making themselves heard.

The baton’s since passed to trumpeter and bandleader Scotty Barnhart, but when the Basie Orchestra returns to Red Bank this Sunday, March 1, it’ll be picking up where it left off: celebrating the legacy of the fabled “Kid from Red Bank” in a too-rare match-up with another long-running institution that bears his brand.

Scheduled as a 3 pm matinee (or “3 O’Clock Jump,” in the pioneer swing pianist’s parlance?), the March 1 concert teams the CBO with a relatively young musical organization that bridges the perceived gap between the 1930s-’40s golden age of American jazz, and the globally savvy sounds of the new millennium — New York Voices.

That question, and some speculation by local old-timers, threw fuel on an already-raging firestorm about the truthfulness of the NBC News helmsman and former Middletown resident, who was later suspended by the network earlier this month for misrepresenting facts about an incident in Iraq.

Brian Donohue, an nj.com writer and commentator, did some legwork on the Red Bank piece of the story. And while he and his colleagues failed to unearth any specific evidence supporting Williams’ claim, he found plenty to refute the rose-colored reminiscences of locals who said it could not have happened because stuff like that just didn’t happen in Red Bank in the 1970s.

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The Kennedy Mystique: the egg-tempera CIRCUS SUMMER by Eileen Kennedy is among the items included in DREAMSCAPES AND SHAPED DREAMS — an exhibit of works by the painter and her cousin Lynne Kennedy, going up on the walls of the Oyster Point Hotel.

The river breezes may still be blowing more bitter than sweet, but as sure a sign of Spring — surer even than Punxsatawney prognosticators, or pudgy pitchers — is the sudden proliferation of art exhibitions in our area’s galleries, grand lodgings, and even greenhouses. It’s an explosion of color that begins, appropriately enough, amid the plant life of Sickles Market in Little Silver this weekend — and it continues, in the days and evenings to come, in places both safe and surprising.

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Michael Olski, age 49, from Atlantic Avenue in Middletown, NJ, arrested on February 12, 2015 by Patrolman Kent Thornton for Simple Assault. He was released pending a court date.

Dennis Knapp, age 44, from Highland Avenue in Leonardo, NJ, arrested on February 11, 2015 by Police Officer Stephanie Geisel for Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, Terroristic Threats, Possession of under 50 Grams of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was held on $67,500.00 bail set by Judge Richard Thompson.

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Arianna Deleks, an employee at Char Steakhouse, shoos a pair of ducks onto the sidewalk on Broad Street in Red Bank Thursday afternoon. Deleks said the ducks showed up two days ago and keep wandering into traffic, and she’s worried they’ll get hit by a car.

“It’s so sad that they’re here,” she said, when they should be down on the nearby Navesink, which is frozen. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

03.03 - Bubble Wrap Prints at MTPL Middletown Township Public Library invites ages 2 to 6 to help cover the tables in the Children's Activity Room in bubble wrap — then paint on the wrap, and make prints from the paint (remember to 'dress for mess')!

03.03 - One Night of Queen It's an 'amazingly accurate tribute' to the days when the late Freddie Mercury and company ruled the airwaves, starring Gary Mullen and The Works and featuring the greatest hits of Queen.

03.03 - TITLE IX AND CAMPUS ACTIVISM lecture at BCC As part of the Spring Lecture Series, Brookdale Community College welcomes civil rights activist Annie Clark, cofounder of the national advocacy group End Rape on Campus, for a discussion on the prevalence of sexual assaults at American colleges and how citizens can fight to stop them. Park in lots 6 or 7.

03.04 - Noble Writers at MTPL Middletown Township Public Library hosts a free weekly Wednesday morning meeting of the writing group for women, with all welcome to join and no registration required. A Writing Critiquing Group also meets every Wednesday evening at the library, 7 pm.

03.04 - GUADALUPE IN THE GUEST ROOM It's a world premiere from Two River Theater Company; an intimate play by Tony Meneses in which a Mexican woman’s daughter’s sudden death leaves the mother struggling to connect with her American son in law; looking past the cultural and language barriers to find common interest in the most unexpected places. Performances at 1 pm and 7 pm.

03.04 - Pottery Open House at Thompson Park Come to the park's Creative Arts Center; sample some hand building techniques and try your luck at the potter’s wheel in this free session. Open to ages 7 and up, under 18 with adult.

03.05 - Laugh at Lunch: Frangela Brookdale Community College Student Life and Activities hosts the 'pop cultural pundits' comedy team of Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton (Best Week Ever, Today Show, Showbiz Tonight and many other TV shows) in a lunchtime pitstop to the Warner Student Life Center on the Lincroft campus.

03.05 - Artists' Workshop The Red Bank Public Library hosts an informal monthly gathering with Artist in Residence Joe Bergholm, in which artists can 'find inspiration and motivation' in a space for creative people to draw and paint with others. No registration necessary; bring acrylics, pastels, watercolors, charcoal or pencils (no oils, please).

03.05 - GUADALUPE IN THE GUEST ROOM It's a world premiere from Two River Theater Company; an intimate play by Tony Meneses in which a Mexican woman’s daughter’s sudden death leaves the mother struggling to connect with her American son in law; looking past the cultural and language barriers to find common interest in the most unexpected places.

03.05 - Comedy Night Live at The Dub Chris Covert of Jersey Jokers presents the latest in a regular series of standup comedy Open Mics, in which some of the region's future stars (and ha ha hopefuls) are showcased upstairs at the Dublin House.

03.06 - First Friday Freestyle Art at MTPL Middletown Township Public Library invites grades K and up to a new program offered on the first Friday of the month for school age kids. Each month we'll experiment with a simple art concept. Space is limited; preregistration required.

03.06 - DREAMSCAPES AND SHAPED DREAMS Art Opening The Oyster Point Hotel hosts a reception for an exhibit of paintings (curated by Gerda Liebmann) by cousins Eileen and Lynne Kennedy. The artists will be present (and the public is welcome) during the reception from 7 to 9 pm, with the exhibit remaining on display in the first and second floor lobby areas through April 26.

03.06 - GUADALUPE IN THE GUEST ROOM It's a world premiere from Two River Theater Company; an intimate play by Tony Meneses in which a Mexican woman’s daughter’s sudden death leaves the mother struggling to connect with her American son in law; looking past the cultural and language barriers to find common interest in the most unexpected places.

03.06 - Burt Bacharach The master pop songwriter of the second half of the 20th century is still touring at the age of 86; returning to Red Bank with piano, orchestra, singers and a most awesome catalog of hits.

03.06 - Microsoft Word Discussion Group at MTPL Middletown Township Public Library hosts an introductory class on this entry—level desktop publishing application and create newsletters, brochures, cards, and more. Control page layout and design, and publish your own works.

03.06 - DIGGING THE WHOLE The Brookdale Community College Performing Arts Center is the setting for a student production of the interactive family musical, in which the flora and fauna of the forest confront a slob who makes his new home in the middle of the woods.

03.07 - Open Shoot Archery at Thompson Park The homebase of the Monmouth County Parks System invites ages 8 and up (under 18 with adult) to try your hand at open shoot archery, with all equipment provided (no outside equipment permitted). Cash or check only; limited instruction provided to beginners.

03.07 - Drop—in Surprise Storytime at Deep Cut Gardens Join us for a free reading from a nature— or garden—related book at Deep Cut Gardens, Middletown. If the weather is nice, look for the clue at our entrance that leads to the secret spot in the gardens. If it’s rainy or cold, we’ll be inside the Horticultural Center.

03.07 - Middletown First Aid Squad at MTPL Middletown Township Public Library invites all ages to meet some of the township's volunteer emergency responders, with mini health screenings at 10 am, and a chance to learn about the First Aid Squad at 10:30.

03.07 - DIGGING THE WHOLE The Brookdale Community College Performing Arts Center is the setting for a student production of the interactive family musical, in which the flora and fauna of the forest confront a slob who makes his new home in the middle of the woods. Performances at 11 am and 2 pm.